On Monday, June 28, 2010 former Ku Klux Klansman and Senator Robert Byrd passed. In a strange twist of fate the senator's passing occurred on the anniversary of the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Act. According to Michael Zak, The Fugitive Slave Act was written by a pair of Democrats, Senator James Mason (D-VA) and Senator Andrew Butler (D-SC), had written the Fugitive Slave Act. The bill repealing the Fugitive Slave Act was written by a Republican congressman from Ohio, Rufus Spalding and signed into law by Republican President Abraham Lincoln. Let's not forget that it was the Republican Party...

Even though the topic on the agenda for Wednesday’s Senate Appropriations Committee hearing was Iraq war funding, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) grasped from the moment he arrived that he was the day’s most important subject — and he was ready to make his case. He arrived on time, wore a crisp suit and entered the room smiling. When he left, after two hours, “Shut up” were the only words he had for his critics. He seemed to pass the test, convincing three Senate Democratic leaders that he’s fit to continue as chairman. Byrd knows that he is the most closely...